54 FC soldiers remain missing from Mohmand

The News - PESHAWAR: Forty soldiers of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) have been missing for the past two days in Mohmand tribal region and 10 of them are reported to be in the custody of the Afghan security forces, military authorities told The News on Wednesday.

However, AFP reported that more than 50 FC men were missing. Military officials said a group of militants had attacked a post of the FC, located on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the mountains of the troubled Mohmand tribal region with small and heavy arms two days ago.

The AFP, while quoting a local administration official, said around 54 soldiers were believed to be missing. Of the 65 troops manning the post, 11 had returned and 54 were still missing, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The post was attacked at night, which panicked the troops and many of them left their positions and mistakenly crossed over into the neighbouring Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. There were reports that 40 of them had been arrested by the Afghan security forces after accusing them of crossing the border to fight against them.

However, a Pakistani military official denied these allegations by the Afghan security officials and said that only 10 FC men, out of 40 missing personnel, were in the custody of the Afghan government.

He said besides these 40 people, other soldiers later reached Ghallanai, the headquarters of Mohmand Agency, and rejoined their unit, Mohmand Rifles, a wing of the Frontier Corps (FC). “There is no truth in reports that 40 of them are in custody of the Afghan security forces. Only 10 are in their custody, while the remaining 30 remain untraceable. The remaining 30 may have gone homes without any permission, which they often do after such incidents, or could have sought shelter with the tribespeople in the mountains,” explained a senior military official on condition of anonymity.

He said there was no truth in claims of the Afghan security officials that these people had gone there for fighting. “Why the FC men will cross over into Afghanistan to fight against them when we are not at war with them,” the military official argued.

Some reports said the Afghan authorities had released eight of the soldiers and handed them to Pakistani authorities at Torkham border. However, military officials said they were not aware of such development so far.

Also, there were reports that the Afghan Taliban had captured these 40 Pakistani soldiers from their post and then taken them inside the Afghan territory. However, Afghan Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid rejected such reports.

“We have nothing to do with the kidnapping of Pakistani troops. Our fighters are engaged in their fight against the US-led occupying forces inside Afghanistan and have no information about the missing Pakistani soldiers,” Zabihullah claimed during his brief telephone from an undisclosed location.

Some officials said it could be retaliation by the Afghan armed forces as 10 of their soldiers had come across when their post came under attack by the Afghan Taliban in Nuristan province and their frightened soldiers had crossed over into Chitral district.

Military sources said the Chitral Scouts had taken 10 Afghan soldiers into custody but released them after seven days as a sign of goodwill gesture. Relations between the troops of both the neighbouring countries remain unfriendly most of the time but it is for the first time that Pakistani soldiers have been arrested by the Afghan troops and accused of fighting inside their war-torn country.